From the Ashes
by somekindofwildgirl
Summary: Four people step forward to shelter and train magical children before they are discovered by muggles. Little did they know that they would create a legacy that would shape the Wizarding World for generations to come.
1. Chapter 1

**From the Ashes**

by somekindofwildgirl

* * *

 **Summary:** The Burnings are threatening to destroy the magical community. Four people step forward to shelter and train magical children before they are discovered by muggles. Little did they know that they would create a legacy that would shape the Wizarding World for generations to come.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

"We need to move!" Salazar said as he ran into the room.

Immediately, the cellar was a flurry of activity. They had all prepared for this eventuality but carrying it out was always different, more frightening. Helga started guiding the small group of students down the secret passageway. It would take them deep into the forest where the children could make their way back to the village together. Their absence would not be noticed as Salazar and Helga would draw the muggles away from the students.

With a wave of his hand, the few possessions that they owned were neatly packed up and floated to their wagon outside. There was no time to be discrete. The muggles had found out about Salazar and Helga's magic and had sentenced them to die. He had gotten everything ready by the time she returned.

"How did they find us?" Helga asked.

He ushered her outside and they sat down at the front of the wagon. Salazar grabbed the reins and the two horses started moving. "It was Albert again. I do not know how he found us but he is the one that alerted the townspeople."

"It is very troubling. We have only been here for four months. I do not know how, but he has to be tracking us."

"He is a muggle."

Helga closed her eyes for a few minutes. If he had never seen her do this before, it would have scared him. Her breathing slowed and she was completely still, unnaturally so. Salazar glanced behind him but no one was actively pursuing them. They owed their lives to Bill. If he had not warned Salazar, the muggles would have caught them. He and Helga could handle themselves but not if they had to protect the children.

"The muggles have just arrived at the cellar. None of them have horses either, we should be able to lose them if we keep the horses at a steady pace," she said, opening her blue eyes.

"And the children?"

"Safe. They managed to sneak into the village unnoticed."

Salazar relaxed at this information. Helga was distantly related to a Seer. She did not possess the Sight in the traditional way. The red headed witch could See certain events unfold as they were happening. It came in handy in their many escapes from muggle mobs.

"I bet it was that boy Tommy that betrayed us."

Helga sighed. "You cannot always blame the squib, Salazar."

"Who else would report us?" he asked. "It no longer matters. Do you want to keep teaching the children? These are dangerous days."

"It has been dangerous since the day we started. If we do not teach the young ones to control their magic, the muggles will find them. We have already lost too many to the fire. Are you having second thoughts?"

His dark eyes watched her. "No. I think I would find an ordinary life boring. Being pursued adds a certain excitement to our lives. Where shall we go next?"

"South. I hear that spring has arrived in that part of the country and I am tired of being cold all the time."

* * *

Helga was right, the snow had started to melt in the south and the birds had returned to their homes. The last winter had been harsh making travel almost impossible. The feeling of sunlight warming his face was a welcome one. Salazar wanted to stay in the south. The people were friendlier, the warmer weather made sleeping in barns easier, and seeing the sun improved both of their moods.

They had gone to three different villages and there was no sign of magical activity. It was troubling but could be explained away. The amount of Burnings had increased in the past year making the magical community more secretive and paranoid than ever. If the magical family did not know you, they did not trust you. It did not matter if there was proof that you were a wizard, the times had gotten too dangerous to risk trusting a stranger.

Muggleborns were downright impossible to find. They lived in fear of both their magic and their muggle relatives discovering their abilities. The witches and wizards would suppress their power until either their magic overwhelmed them or their accidental magic was too big to hide. Both outcomes led to their deaths. Salazar and Helga had never come across muggleborns, they were always too late.

The redhead joined him at the bar. "No one is interested in our services. Where should we go next?"

"Maybe there are no more children to teach," he said before taking a sip of mead.

"We both know that is not true. And what else would we do? We cannot go home," Helga said dropping her voice to a whisper. "The muggles made sure of that."

Salazar looked away when she reminded him of all they had lost. His parents had died when he was five years old. Helga's parents had taken him in and treated him as a second son. Their childhood had been a good one, full of games and adventures on her estate. Her mother had taught them everything they knew about magic and he had spent many a night reading in their immense library. No one in the surrounding area was privy to the fact that they were magical. Helga's father was a respected doctor and everyone went to him for advice.

There was one man that had been jealous of the Hufflepuffs. Salazar and Helga had been at the market in the next village when it happened. The man – Gregory Bennett – had accused their family of sorcery and by the time they returned, it was too late to save his adoptive parents. The duo had barely escaped with their lives and have never been able to return home. Salazar was thankful that nothing had happened to Helga, she was his sister in every way that mattered.

"We will try out east," he said, draining the last of his goblet.

* * *

They found a magical child hiding in a cave. Helga had found the orphan with her Sight and they brought him along to one of the nearby villages. Robert was scrawny but there was a fire in him that Salazar liked. Helga was always fretting over him, worried about how malnourished he was. The first month was dedicated to building up the boy's strength, which he left up to the redhead to sort out.

Long ago, Salazar and Helga came up with a fake story. They were a married couple that had fallen on hard times. He was a blacksmith – a skill the wizard did possess, which lent well to their story – and she knew a little about medicine. The boy had dark hair like Salazar and making it easy to pass him off as their child. The villagers were often relieved to have a blacksmith and someone who was able to help treat injuries so they rarely asked questions.

The wizard had taken Robert outside to practice meditating when someone knocked on the door. Helga opened the door and was surprised to see a noblewoman on her doorstep. The stranger had hair as dark as the night sky and bright blue eyes.

"Are you Helga Hufflepuff?"

The redhead nodded. "Who is asking?"

"Oh thank Merlin," the noblewoman said pushing her way into the room. "You are a hard woman to track down! I missed you in the southern villages by three days before you disappeared."

"Who are you?" Helga asked, shutting the door. She hoped that Salazar returned soon. It never boded well for the duo if someone was searching for them.

"I am terribly sorry for my bad manners. I am Rowena Ravenclaw, at your service."

The redhead shook the offered hand. "Ravenclaw? What can I do for you?"

The Ravenclaws were a powerful northern family only equalled by the Gryffindor family in the west. Both families could trace their magical ability to the dawn of time. The Hufflepuffs and the Slytherins – Salazar's family – could only trace theirs back a couple of centuries.

"Is it not obvious? I would like to join your cause," Miss Ravenclaw said.

"If by cause you mean the instruction of children, it is not an easy life," Helga said, raising her eyebrow at the rich fabric of her cloak and dress. "We do not get paid and we routinely sleep in barns."

Salazar opened the door and entered the room. He was immediately drawn to the beautiful stranger. There was something graceful in the way she moved and an intelligence in her gaze that drew his interest. It was rare to find a smart woman in a society that liked to breed obedient daughters.

"You must be Salazar Slytherin," she said with a smile. "I am Rowena, Rowena Ravenclaw."

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance. What brings you to our humble abode?"

Helga frowned. "She wants to help us teach."

"And what say you?" he asked.

"I was telling her that it is a difficult life," she answered. "Let us talk about this over tea. You are lucky that you have caught us at this place. The town was so relieved for our help that they set us up in this house at a good price."

Salazar guided Rowena to their rickety table while Helga prepared their tea. It took several minutes before they were ready to continue the discussion. The redhead was grateful that Miss Ravenclaw did not comment on the chipped tea set.

"I realize that this will be different than I am accustomed to, but I want to help. Did you know that the muggles burned three innocents in our village last month?" the raven haired witch said.

"That is terrible," Helga said gravely.

Salazar sighed. "It is a dangerous time to have magic. I think you should return home, Miss Ravenclaw. I am certain Helga and I would do the same if we had a home to return to. Our work is dangerous, we face the threat of capture daily."

"There is a muggle that has made it his life's mission to catch us," the redhead added.

"I appreciate your concern, but I am willing to take the risk. Will you accept my help? I can show you my magical ability and knowledge."

The duo exchanged a glance before Salazar shrugged his shoulders leaving it up to Helga to decide.

"That will not be necessary. We only have one student at the moment but we would be honoured to accept your help," Helga said. "I do not know how we will explain your presence. Salazar and I have been posing as a married couple and our student as our child."

Rowena bit her lip. "I can be Mr Slytherin's sister. We both have the same colour of hair."

"Well, I think that settles the matter. Let me introduce you to Robert. We are still teaching him how to control his magic–"

He watched as the two witches left the house, wondering what exactly Miss Ravenclaw was hiding.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Yay, a new story! I'm going to try my best to update this weekly on Wednesdays. I haven't had two stories on the go before, so wish me luck!**

 **Please let me know what you thought of this :).**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The trio fell into an easy routine. Helga and Rowena focused on teaching while Salazar spent his time on personal research. The world was changing and he wanted to rise with it. There was opportunity to be had if one paid enough attention. It was not something that he talked about with Helga. She cared little for politics or power. The plight of the poor and unfortunate had always been her calling. His sister was pure, innocent despite witnessing the brutality the muggles showed them. Salazar had a great deal of respect for her because of that.

Saving wizards and witches from the fire were not the only reason Salazar taught the children. It was an important mission, but it was also a good way to create relationships all over the country. Helga understood that and didn't question his loyalty to their two person, now three person cause. It was the reason that Salazar did not believe that Rowena wanted to teach out of the goodness of her heart. The past months had shown him how clever she was. He admired her for it, but it also made him slow to trust Rowena. There was another reason that she joined them and until she disclosed it, he would be wary of her.

"Good afternoon, Thomas. What news do you bring today?" Salazar asked when the man entered the barn. This village had little need of a blacksmith, so Salazar helped Farmer Luke with his chores.

"There's to be a Burning tomorrow," he whispered.

"Who?"

Tom looked around as if he was scared the Devil himself would appear. "Brandon McNully."

"I always thought there was something suspicious about him," Salazar lied. "When will it take place?"

"At dawn. They called the Witchfinder himself to see if there are any more sorcerers hidden here."

"Good. You know what they say, sorcerers are rarely alone."

Thomas took a step back. "I know. I can't believe the news. I have to go tell the others."

Salazar watched the man run off into the distance, spreading the news. The whole village would know by nightfall. As soon as Tom was out of sight, he rushed to the barn to find the girls. Only Rowena was there, attention focused on the book in her hand.

"We need to leave by nightfall," he said, startling her.

Her tired eyes looked up at him. "Why? Duncan is so close to gaining control of his power. If we leave now, then he will be lost."

"He knows enough that he can teach himself better control. There is to be a Burning at dawn."

"For who?"

"McNully."

Rowena stood up. "No, he's not magical. We both know that."

"He was about to get a large inheritance and his son-in-law wants the money for himself."

"How do you know that?"

"Information is power. How do you think Helga and I have survived all these years?" Salazar asked. "Where is she?"

"Healing a farmer. Don't you ever get tired of running?"

He wanted to roll his eyes. Rowena had been with them less than a year and she was already struggling with their nomadic lifestyle. Salazar knew that she was reaching her wit's end, but he had hoped she would have this conversation with Helga. They had tried to warn Rowena about the hardships that their lifestyle brought, but she had refused to listen.

"Helga and I have a bounty on our heads. As we speak, Albert is on his way here to find other sorcerers. Running is all that we can do if we want to live," he explained.

Rowena hesitated. "I understand why we must leave, but there had to be another way. I'm tired of leaving these children before they are in full control of their magic. Did you know this is the fifth village we have been since I joined you?"

"What are you suggesting? That we kidnap these children from their homes? Because most of our students belong to families," Salazar said. "Is it easy for me to leave them to the muggles' mercy? No. But even by teaching these kids a little bit, we increase their odds of survival."

"But what if–"

"No. We had a system in place long before you joined us and I won't change it."

Rowena was interrupted once again by Helga's arrival. She was covered in blood but had a huge smile on her face. Her grin faded when she sensed the tension in the room.

The redhead sighed. "What is going on?"

"Albert is on his way. We need to leave before nightfall," Salazar said.

Helga cursed. Years of habit kicked in and the two siblings moved together as they started packing up their things and getting ready to disappear. Rowena watched them for a moment before reluctantly joining in.

* * *

The tavern was loud and Salazar had wanted to leave since the moment he stepped foot inside. The floor was sticky with spilt ale and a group of men at the back of the table were pounding their fists on the table, singing an off-key version of The Lady Gwendolyn. The trio took a seat at the empty table by the window and Salazar was quick to go to the bar to get their drinks.

"Thank you for convincing Salazar to come out here," Rowena said, ignoring the lewd looks the men shot their way.

Helga sighed. "I only agreed because I know you are having a hard time of things. Are you certain you do not want us to drop you off at home?"

"No, I want to stay."

Tension between the three had been running high since Rowena and Salazar's disagreement. The two had barely exchanged two words making travelling with them impossible. Helga said she wouldn't get involved, but it was no secret that she was loyal to Salazar. He was her family and they had been working together far longer.

Rowena didn't realize that they didn't have the resources or power to get involved with the Burnings. Despite the fact that they had magic, the muggles could overwhelm them with their sheer number or traps. It was sick because recently, the muggles started making false accusations in order to get rid of enemies or rivals.

Salazar was talking to a woman at the bar when the rowdy men started talking about Helga and Rowena, thinking that they were in the tavern unaccompanied. Helga didn't know what was more dangerous, possessing magic or being a woman.

"Look at the mouth on her," one of them said, gesturing to Rowena. "I didn't know they had whores here. How much are you charging?"

"No, have you seen the tits on the redhead? That's the one I want," the man with the missing teeth said.

Salazar lifted his hand, but a man stepped in front their table. He had long, shaggy red hair that made him look more like a lion than a man. The stranger pulled out his ruby encrusted sword.

"This is none of your business, Gryffindor," the toothless man said.

"You insulted these ladies' honour and I will defend it unless you withdraw your words."

The rowdy group of men grew quiet as they contemplated their options. It was clear they knew the strange man. Their eyes darted between the sword and their drinks before they settled back into their seats.

"Fine, we take it back. These women are fine ladies," the toothless man said, rolling his eyes.

The man called Gryffindor sheathed his sword before taking a seat at their table. "The name's Godric, sorry that I am late, Rowena," he said taking her tankard and draining it. He shot a look at Salazar. "You weren't really going to do that in front of them were you?"

By them, he meant the muggles. Salazar was about to answer but Rowena but she must have known that he had an insult ready for she interrupted him.

"Thank you for meeting with us," she said before turning to Helga and Salazar. "I was not exactly honest about why I wanted to come here. I have a suggestion that I wanted to make about our recent problem."

"Rowena, enough already. Salazar already told you our thoughts on the matter."

Helga's chastise showed how irritated she was with the subject. There was nothing more that she hated than discord among them.

"Ah, but you haven't heard of my proposal yet," Godric said with a smile that showed his brilliant white teeth. "Miss Hufflepuff, I find myself stunned by your beauty. Rowena never mentioned it."

"What is your proposal?" Salazar asked annoyed. Helga was blushing and he did not like the way the man was eyeing up his sister.

"I want to found a magical school. Not only will we teach the children to control their power, but it will be a safe haven for them," Gryffindor said.

"How will we guarantee the children's safety?"

Rowena pulled out a bundle of parchment rolls and opened them. They were filled with diagrams and Latin words. "I have created a series of wards that would shield us from the muggles. It would include both a notice-me-not and invisibility component."

The other three picked up the various scrolls and inspected them. It was incredible work and Salazar wondered when she would have had the time to come up with this. She observed them, waiting for their opinion. Godric had long put them down and Helga was the next to follow. Salazar read through every piece of information, trying to see any loopholes.

"How will the students know where it is if the school is invisible?" he asked.

"They will need to be brought into the warding zone by someone who has already been introduced into the wards. We can also assign one of us to go and find new students to bring back to the school, or we can all take turns doing that," Rowena explained, putting the parchment away.

"How will we be able to afford it? Helga and I have gone through most of our inheritance already."

Godric shrugged. "Easy. I'll pay for it. This is the right thing to do for the younger witches and wizards that have not been born in our circumstances."

Salazar did not feel comfortable accepting this pompous arse's money and turned towards Helga for support. Her blue eyes were bright with excitement. He knew that if he turned down the offer, she would be disappointed and probably yell, but she would stay with him. It was a good offer and it would allow them to continue their work. As much as his pride told him to reject the proposal, this was bigger than him.

"What is your answer?" Rowena asked.

"I will only agree on these terms–" he said, not missing the way the two women beamed at him.

* * *

The raven-haired witch found Salazar by the lake. He was meditating, the light of the nearly full moon casting a silvery glow on him. Rowena took a seat next to him and waited. It didn't take long for his dark eyes stare at her. There was something unnerving about his gaze like he could see into the depths of her soul.

"Thank you for agreeing to my proposal today."

"You didn't have to trick me and Helga into meeting with Gryffindor," he said.

Rowena arched her eyebrow. "Didn't I? You refused to listen to my opinion and haven't talked to me since our disagreement."

"Why did you join us?"

"To educate magical children."

He turned towards her, her breath catching. What was it about this man? The way he said her name, an accidental brush of his fingers set her heart racing.

"No," he said, so quietly she almost didn't hear him. "There is another reason that you will not return home. Has someone hurt you?"

"Not intentionally," Rowena said. She was about to pull away but there was softness in his gaze that she had never seen. She found herself opening up to him. "My parents have never valued my intellect or cleverness. They want a beautiful, obedient daughter and for me to become a perfect wife. The man they chose as my betrothed would sooner crush my spirit than allow me to use my gifts. I could not stay."

"Don't you miss your family?"

"No. I feel more at home with you and Helga than I ever did with my parents."

The moment was too intimate and she looked away from the wizard beside her.

"You are brave. A mind like yours is a rare thing, it should not be hidden."

Rowena blushed. "Thank you, Salazar."

The two stayed outside, a comfortable silence stretching between them.


End file.
